


A Snowball’s Chance in Arizona

by CaseyBarson12



Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Case Fic, Child Death, Child Loss, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s17e20 The Arizona, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family Fluff, Family Loss, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Healing, Hurt Jethro Gibbs, Internal Conflict, Light Angst, Loss of Spouse, Marine Corps, Mental Health Issues, Military Background, Moving On, NCIS Major Case Response Team (MCRT), POV Jethro Gibbs, Papa Bear Jethro Gibbs, Parent-Child Relationship, Parental Jethro Gibbs, Past Character Death, Past Violence, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Relationship, Psychological Trauma, Romance, Slibbs, Slow Burn, Team as Family, Triggers, Veterans, widower
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:02:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25534792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaseyBarson12/pseuds/CaseyBarson12
Summary: “And ya look around, and think… it shouldn't take a war… to make the world that simple."What happened after McGee and Gibbs’ conversation at the end of ‘The Arizona?’
Relationships: Jethro Gibbs & Kelly Gibbs, Jethro Gibbs/Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane, Jethro Gibbs/Shannon Gibbs
Comments: 24
Kudos: 142





	1. Chapter 1

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was in a bit of a mood, to say the least. A fellow war veteran who'd kept them busy lately - Joseph Smith - had shared some of his deepest pain with the Marine-turned-NCIS-Agent. All for the sake of proving his story. Of being able to go _home_. Granted, Joe had been very reluctant at the time, but he later told the younger veteran that it had helped lighten his heart. Helped so much that the older man had tried to encourage Jethro to do the same. To finally open up.

A snort of derision escaped his lips as he contemplated sharing his war experiences with someone. It had been so long since he had really confided in anyone about, well, anything. Joe had sounding a bit like he'd been talking to Grace. _"Talk about it," she'd told him more than once. "Come on. It'll help. Just talk."_

Nowadays, he often found himself on the verge of spilling his guts to somebody. McGee, Fornell... hell, even Grace.

Honestly, it was particularly precarious for him to be around Jack as of late. They'd gotten very close since she made the move to D.C from California. That woman somehow managed to unravel him in ways that he no longer thought possible. He didn't know what it was but there was just something different about her. If he was honest, he'd been falling for her for a while.

Still, maybe Joe had a point about talking to someone who didn't _know_. Someone who hadn't served. Someone he was actually forced to articulate his feelings to.

With McGee's full attention, he forced himself to speak, doing his best to keep his composure. Talking about his feelings made him feel uncomfortable, even if he really did want to talk to his friend and get some of this off his chest. "I wanna tell you somethin' about Joe. Somethin' about me."

McGee sat perched on Jethro’s couch, face rather somber. Jethro wasn't exactly chatty when it came to himself and the younger man could clearly tell that whatever it was his boss wanted to share with him was heavy.

Ever since Paraguay, Jethro and McGee had a special kind of bond. The men had been forced to lay themselves bare in almost every way possible, witnessing each other at their weakest moments as they tried to survive in that hell-hole being starved, beaten, and tortured for two months straight. The younger man had tried to claim that Jethro had had it worse, but as he had pointed out, yes, he'd been physically tortured more, but being forced to watch Jethro get waterboarded, among other things... that was its own brand of torture. The pair had been through hell together. There was a deep trust that had formed from living through that mess together.

"What I saw in Kuwait… before that I was different." Desert Storm had been the worst. His tours of duty in Panama and Bosnia hadn't been picnics, but his time in the Persian Gulf had been absolutely brutal. His mind immediately went to Lieutenant Cameron dying in his arms. "Took something from me. It's what war does." He paused, his eyes closing, forearms resting on his knees. After a brief moment, the veteran agent continued. "Sometimes, I think if my girls had been there when I got home, maybe they wouldn't have recognized me."

An overwhelming waved of despair rushed through him as he recalled what had happened to the love of his life and his baby girl. It had been beyond devastating and that was one wound that was never going to fully heal.

He fought to keep his composure and continue with the conversation at hand, murmuring as he spoke. "Maybe there wouldn't have been enough of me left for them to hang onto. Maybe… the best of me was gone." His stare had become distant. "You come home," he said softly, "and you're like half a person. The other half of ya's still back there where… at least it made sense." He shook his head slowly, still staring, unfocused, as if he was in another time and place. "Where… even with the bullets and the blood and the chaos, ya knew what mattered." Unconsciously, he let long fingers tug the chain around his neck. "You knew that the guy next to you was willing to die for you… and you for him." Jethro’s voice was husky now, thick with emotion. "And ya look around, and think… it shouldn't take a war… to make the world that simple."

"I can imagine coming back would be a shock," McGee said, clearly choosing his words carefully. "Trying to find your place again."

He gave the younger man a sad smile, just nodding slightly as he didn't know what to say. It had been hard, but coming back to an empty home had been worse. Never again would he watch movies after dinner with his girls, go horseback riding down by the beach, or hear Kelly's excited footsteps and prattle as she ran around the house, playing. Not a day went by where he didn't miss his family and not a day went by when he didn't think about those he served with who'd died.

He'd been suicidal after Kuwait, but a good friend had stopped him from eating his own gun, convincing Jethro that he deserved to exist. While Jethro was ultimately thankful for that, that time of his life could only be described as one thing. Painful.

_"What do you know about war, son?"_

_"Enough to know I don't want to go back."_

He was pulled out of his musings by McGee. "You really sure you don't want me to go with you?" the younger man asked him, not for the first time that day.

The younger agent was no doubt slightly concerned about Jethro’s solo trip to Hawaii with Joe's ashes. The veteran agent felt he had to do it, though. Joe had nobody and deserved to have someone honour him. In reply, he lifted his chin in the general direction of the door. "Don't forget the grill."

The other man nodded, standing up and grabbing his things. "Take care."

He dipped his head slightly in acknowledgement. "You too. Enjoy the party, Tim."

"Have a good trip, Boss."

Once McGee left, Jethro set to work at packing his things, trying to get everything in order for the trip the following morning. He had trouble re-compartmentalizing, though, and was relieved when he phone rang, offering a momentary distraction from his own thoughts. "Gibbs."

"Hey, Cowboy." It was Jack. That realization immediately made him smile. "Hope I'm not interrupting something?"

"Never," he replied, still smiling. "I'm mostly packed already. Was just about to make me some chow, actually."

"You want some company?" she questioned.

He did. He loved spending time with Jack. She had a way of just making everything seem better and he could just be _him,_ faults and all. It helped that she'd served too. She understood a lot about him without him ever having to really verbalize it. It was just... easy. And yet at the same time, she challenged him. In a good way.

With that thought, something Joe had said ran through his mind. _"I knew... love. I did. It just never, ever lasts, does it?"_

The conversation with his friend Phil replayed in his head as well.

_Phil was laying on his couch, eyeing Jethro intently as the pair talked. "Think you'd ever get back into a relationship?"_

_"Oh, I don't know," he replied. "Been there. Not sure I'm cut out for that."_

He licked his lips, mulling over how to answer Jack's inquiry. He knew the silence was starting to drag on too long. He was honestly torn. He knew exactly how Joe felt, but he also really wanted see Jack. He was tired of being alone. Pushing down the fear, he spoke. "I'd love some. Come on over, Jack."


	2. Chapter 2

The trip home from Pearl harbour was a long one. The trip seemed to drag on and on. Going to Pearl Harbour hadn't been easy and now he just wanted to go home and work on his boat. And maybe have a glass or two of bourbon to dull the ache in his chest that had been his only companion the past few days.

He’d only been to Pearl Harbour once before, and it was just as heart wrenching as the first time he stepped foot onto that memorial. However, this time he had a promise to keep and he was ultimately glad he'd done it. Unveiling Joe's name and saluting him... The man deserved someone to honour him and his sacrifice.

Still, it had been emotional. As it always was for Jethro when he went to these memorials.

 _"No matter how many times I come here, it still gets to me. You look at a name, you have to look at a reflection of yourself. You are among the fallen."_ He'd said that little anecdote to a man named Ned Quinn over a decade ago now, while he was at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and it never ceased to ring true.

That hadn’t even really been the worst of it, as one of the days he was there had been his and Shannon’s wedding anniversary.

It never seemed to get any easier, no matter how many years went by. 

He'd been up most of that night, tossing and turning, but, thankfully, he'd gotten rather good at functioning with rather little sleep. Even when some of the more unpleasant memories from his time overseas weren't keeping him up, memories of a life stolen from him were his constant companion.

His house hadn't felt like a home in a really, really long time.

How could it when so many firsts were stolen from him? He'd never get to experience so many things parents did with their kids.

He had been a family man. One of the luckiest men alive... until he wasn't. Playful laughter, homework, early mornings, late nights, sick days, tea parties, fishing, and Strawberry Shortcake paraphernalia scattered all around the house... That had been his life and then a selfish bastard destroyed absolutely everything.

Losing Shannon had been painful. Losing Kelly... absolutely excruciating.

He'd give anything to have Shannon standing there and giving him hell for having given Kelly too much sugar. Yet again.

He'd give anything to have his daughter waking him up at five o'clock in the morning by jumping on the bed again because she was excited about something. He'd been irritated more than once by it, but now... He wanted it all back. He wanted his girls.

 _Jethro smiled at his girls, grabbing the_ polaroid _laying on the the table._ _The moment captured, he decided to finally let them know that he was there. "So, what's all this? You girls cookin' again?"_

_Kelly smiled and jumped down off the stool that she was standing on. She then ran to her father, hugging him tightly. "Mommy made pancakes and let me help her! I gotta make faces on all the pancakes!"_

_He laughed softly at how excited Kelly was this early in the morning and he kissed his daughter's head of messy waves. "Well, the pancakes smell delicious, Kellz. I'm just hopin' that the faces aren't all made outta syrup or chocolate." He raised his eyebrow at Shannon playfully, knowing how persuasive his daughter could be when she really wanted something, but also knowing that Jethro himself was actually the pushover of the two adults. Guilt, he supposed, for being away so often. He wanted to make the most of every second that he was there with them._

_Shannon shook her head at him and laughed. "One has syrup and chocolate but the rest have fruit and some bacon, and there are eggs as well..." She pulled him in for a kiss. "It's good to have you home, Handsome."_

_He smiled, giving her another quick kiss. "It's good to be home, Beautiful."_

Somehow, though, he noted, Jack made things feel slightly more like home. He'd laugh like he rarely laughed whenever she was over and she somehow breathed a small spark of life back into that house that often felt too big. Too quiet. Too lonely.

_Jack took a swig of her beer as Vance eyed Jethro and asked her a questioned. "Well, what is your professional opinion, Jack?"_

_“Honestly, I'm stumped," Jack replied, setting her beer down. "Gibbs has the best poker face I've ever seen. It's like trying to read a statue."_

_"Mmm, that's his normal state," Grace quipped, leaning towards Jethro slightly as she spoke. "Ain't that right, Popeye?"_

_He shot Grace a smug look._

_Vance eyed her pointedly. "There's_ _no way he can have five_ _winning hands in a row. H_ _e's got to be bluffing."_

 _"I'm not so sure," Tobias chimed in. "_ _He had that same glint in his_ _eye back when I married Diane..._ _and he no longer_ _had to pay alimony."_

_Everyone laughed at that. Even Jethro had to fight to keep his poker face steady._

_Grace immediately pointed at Tobias. “_ _I'm with Tobias on this one."_

 _"All right." Jack wasted no time in placing a couple more of her poker chips in the middle of the table. "_ _I'll call you, Gibbs._ _Let's see 'em!"_

_Fighting to keep the stupid grin off his face, he placed his hand down on the table. Four of a kind. Kings. He'd won._

_Everyone started laughing and shouting._

_Tobias' voice was the loudest. "Oh... What did I tell you?!"_

_"Ridiculous!" Jack stated, still chuckling._

_"Why do I get the feeling_ _we're being bamboozled?" Grace quipped, amused._

_He immediately started goofing off; pumping his arms in the air and laughing._

_In that moment, he was genuinely happy. A rare thing for him._

His mind then flashed to memories of her carrying and singing to Baby-boy Doe two Christmases prior and the pair hanging out with Elena Ruiz while the little girl was in protective custody with him.

That morning, he got to work earlier than the rest of the team, but couldn't help the small smile that formed on his lips when Jack Sloane walked in. "Good morning."

He sat his coffee down on his desk and leaned forward slightly, smiling. The pair hadn't really talked since the night before his trip, so he was actually glad they'd have a few moments to themselves before everything became hectic. "Mornin', Jack."

As he picked his coffee back up, taking a sip, she smiled at him. "Walk and talk?"

He smirked back at the blonde. "Well, I've rarely done somethin' so complicated," he deadpanned, "but I think I can manage."

She rolled her eyes as he rose to his feet, the warm drink still in hand. "You really are something else, Cowboy."

He gave a little snort in reply, gesturing for her to lead the way.

She started walking, taking a sip of her own coffee as she did so. "So, the trip..."

"It was what you'd expect," he said wryly.

She eyed him. "What I mean is... Everything with Joe... it clearly stirred the pot, so to speak. Are you okay?"

He'd known that was coming, so bit down his slight irritation at being asked that. He really did hate that question. He appreciated the fact that she cared, but he really didn't want to get into this at work. And besides, it wasn’t all about Joe. This time of year was always painful. Trying to keep a neutral expression on his face, he gave a little shrug. "I'm fine, Jack. It's nothing."

Her look softened. "You sure?"

He gave her a small smile. "Yes, I'm sure."

She nodded, moving to open the door to her office. "Well, at least you didn't get stuck with a redeye flight."

Without missing a beat, he shot her an amused look and spoke over the sound of the office door closing. "That's what coffee is for." He then took another swig of the warm liquid he was holding.

"You'll get no arguments from me there," she said with a slight chuckle.

"Oh, I know." Jack really wasn't far off from him in terms of coffee addictions. Something that pleased Jethro, as it meant that Ducky couldn't bug him about his caffeine consumption nearly as much as the man used to. "Actually, I wanted to talk to ya about somethin'."

The second that the words left his mouth, he regretted saying them. He wasn't scared... he'd unequivocally deny that, _but_ he was slightly nervous. _Rule 12: Never date a co-worker._ There was a good reason for that particular rule. It complicated matters. They'd flirted, yes, but he was worried he'd messed his chances up two Christmas ago when he'd let things tapper off before they really got started. Still, he couldn't find it in himself to care about burning the rule or not. He really liked Jack. The elephant in the room, indeed.

The blonde tilted her head slightly. "Oh?"

He instinctively broke eye contact. He was trying to find the words when his phone went off. It was dispatch. Slightly irritated and yet also relieved, he answered the phone.

When he finally hung up, he glanced back at his friend. "We'll have to talk later. We've got a dead body... in our basement."

"Oh wow. Later then," she readily agreed with a slight dip of the head. "Go inform everyone else. I'll be here when you can talk."

He nodded, grateful she was understanding and that he had more time to collect his thoughts before having to actually articulate them.

He could already tell that today was going to be a long day.   
  
Maybe this was a sign, though. They were always going to potentially talk about whatever this thing between them was and then nothing came of it. 

His mind fluttered back to Shannon for just a moment and the ensuing exes. _What if I still can’t let go enough to be what Jack needs? Maybe I was right before and I shouldn’t say anything to her. What makes me think we’d actually stand a chance? A part of me’ll always love Shannon. Always._


	3. Chapter 3

Jethro opted to quickly go and grab another coffee refill before going to brief the team, mainly wanting to give himself a moment to pull himself together slightly. He was still feeling a touch out of sorts.

He was walking into the squad room and overheard Jack not too subtly talking to McGee. Jethro himself was clearly the topic of conversation, so his curiosity was immediately piqued. "... just ask him."

"Ask me what?" he inquired.

"Um, well, Boss, I'm taking out some of the team this weekend, for drinks," McGee said, "and I was wondering..."

Jethro honestly wasn't in the mood to go out with everyone. "Have fun." There was soft laughter at that. "Grab your gear," he said, getting right to the point. They had a job to do. "We got a body."

"Boss, you sure you don't want to come?" McGee asked. "I'd love to have you."

"Uh," he replied, quickly sending a text to Fornell, "maybe next time."

"Just so you know," the other man said, "it's-it's my anniversary -"

He closed his phone as he finished reading the reply Fornell had just sent him. "McGee," he said pointedly, starting to walk out of the squad room "I'm about done with anniversaries for the year."

"Hey, uh," Bishop said as she started following him out of the room, Torres and McGee close behind, "so where's the body?"

Jethro glanced at the blonde agent. "In our basement."

It didn't take long at all to get to where they needed to go, but they were definitely left with more questions than answers when they did get there.

"If the body's still warm," Palmer explained, "it means he's been here hours or less. But once Lenny the Liver Probe does his magic, I'll be able to be more specific." The medical examiner glanced up. "Who is he?"

"Uh, no idea," Bishop said with a small shrug. "We were waiting for you before we looked for a wallet."

"Well," the medical examiner said, "an A-plus to you for following protocol."

Jethro eyed the younger man. "Palmer."

"Yeah?" Palmer questioned.

He raised an eyebrow. "Wallet."

"Oh, right, yeah," Palmer said. "All right, our mystery guest is... NCIS Special Agent Ronald Calloway of the Carolina office."

"Must have been part of that interoffice exchange last week," McGee said, chiming in.

"Call Carolina," he ordered. "Let 'em know."

McGee nodded, pulling out his phone. "Okay."

"What do you think happened?" Bishop inquired.

"Well," Palmer said after a brief moment, "based on petechial hemorrhaging, I'd say he asphyxiated about... nine hours ago."

"How?" he questioned.

"I'm not sure," Palmer admitted. "No signs of strangulation. Clearly didn't drown."

"Looks like he burned that notebook over there," Bishop pointed out, gesturing to what was very clearly a burned journal maybe a foot away if that. "Maybe that had something to do with his death."

"It's not likely," Palmer said. "I-I really shouldn't speculate any further until we get Agent Calloway here into autopsy."

"Thanks," McGee said as he ended the call, walking back towards them. "Or whoever he really is. That was SAC at Carolina... There is no Special Agent Calloway at their office or at any NCIS office." The senior field agent glanced at them all. "The credentials are fake."

"Run his prints," he immediately ordered.

"That's gonna be tough," Palmer said a second later, messing with the man's hand to get a better look. "His fingerprints have been burned off." Jethro kneeled slightly to get a better look at the hands and Bishop immediately took several photos of them. "What was this guy doing down here?"

Needless to say, things quickly got interesting as they had a security breach to be worried about. A security sweep had immediately been ordered by Vance.

"So," his senior field agent informed him, "Torres said the security sweeps are almost done... No sign of any bombs."

"You check the roof?" he pressed.

"Yeah," Bishop confirmed, "and everyone in the building's been accounted for."

"We're pretty sure he was alone," McGee added.

"All right," the director chimed in. "I think we need to put a pin in this evacuation for now. But as soon as you find out who that man was I want to know."

He eyed both agents. "You heard him."

"All right," McGee said. "Well, we don't have any ID, but..."

"According to the sign-in log," Bishop said, piggybacking off of McGee's comment and turning the plasma on to show the video footage they'd gotten, "the intruder entered the building last night."

"Wandered around for a little bit..." McGee added.

"Then he went into the subbasement," Bishop informed him.

"Why'd he do that?" Jethro inquired.

"Well, I have a theory," McGee said. "I think he might have been trying to hack into our network. See, his body was found next to the main interconnect hub. That's what connects up every NCIS office in the world."

That caught Jethro's attention. "What was he after?"

"No clue," Bishop admitted easily. "I mean, the only thing we found on him besides his I.D. was that notebook."

"And he burned it," he pointed out before taking a sip of his coffee.

"I guess he didn't want us to see what was inside," McGee stated.

"But obviously," Bishop said, "somebody's targeting us."

Jethro had to agree. "Find out who."

With that comment, he immediately started walking away to go check in with Palmer. He hoped the young medical examiner had come up with something.

Walking into autopsy, however, he got the distinct feeling that Palmer was talking about him and he felt like Bishop and McGee were upstairs as well. Again. "How could you not know who Waldo is?"

"Who's Waldo?" he quipped, understanding the reference full well but wanting to see if he could figure out what was being discussed.

"Uh, actually, it's _Where's Waldo?"_ Palmer said a tad nervously. The younger man had definitely been caught of kilter and had misread Jethro's tone.

 _"_ Okay," he deadpanned. "Where is Waldo?"

The young medical examiner just gave an awkward chuckle. "Maybe I should just tell you how our victim died. It was a severe asthma attack. I extracted these mucus plugs from his airways. It's a hallmark sign of an asthmatic asphyxiation. Also, based on the tox screen that Kasie sent down, I'm fairly confident the attack was triggered by mould spores from his basement, so, Gibbs, his death was a fluke." He then started speaking quickly. "And you should totally come out for drinks with us on Sunday."

He eyed Palmer. "My, that was smooth."

"Segues aren't my strong suit," the younger man said with a nervous chuckle and awkward smile. "But I really think that you would like..."

He interrupted Palmer. "- Hearing more about how this guy died."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Palmer replied. "Uh, Gibbs, the thing is, this man shouldn't have died. With asthma this bad, I'm sure he was prescribed an inhaler at some point; I'm just not sure why he wasn't carrying it."

"Because it could help I.D him if he was caught," he pointed out.

Palmer nodded. "Guess anyone who burns off their fingerprints doesn't want to be identified. But... Kasie got a hit on his DNA anyway. So, our bad guy's name is..." He glanced at the file in his hands. "Zucado. Maurice Zucado. I can see why he didn't want to be identified. Gibbs, he's not just a bad guy. He is a really bad guy. In fact, he comes from..."

"A whole family of bad guys," he said, immediately realizing who the man was. He'd had a rather unsavoury introduction to the family back in 1980.

"Wait," Palmer said. "You know him?"

"I had a run-in with his cousin," he said, emotion seeping into his voice. "Years ago."

_Jethro was stuck in a truck of a car that had just gotten into a bad accident and had been for some time now. He knew he was in some serious trouble, but he could just make out a couple of people speaking quietly nearby._

_Taking a risk, he started making noise with the hope someone would realize he was stuck in the truck of the car and help him and he wasn't about to get himself in even more trouble than he already was in._

_"Someone's in the trunk," he heard a voice say._

_He banged on the truck again. "Hello? Someone let me out of here! Hello?"_

_Just then the trunk door opened and Jethro immediately shot up, wide-eyed._

_"It's okay," a black man who was very clearly a cop said. "Everything's fine. What's your name, Marine?"_

_"Gibbs, sir!" he answered without preamble. "Sergeant Leroy Jethro Gibbs."_

_He glanced at all three people in front of him and realized that they were NIS agents. Navy cops. It wasn't long either before he was taken back to the Navy Investigative Service headquarters to give a statement._

_Agent Scott was the man in charge. "Gibbs? That's with two B's, right?"_

_He gave a half-nod. "Yes, sir."_

_"Well, you're lucky to be alive, Gibbs With Two B's." The agent eyed him. "Any idea who threw you in that trunk?"_

_"He didn't exactly introduce himself," he deadpanned._

_"His real name was Rinaldi Zucado," the man explained, pulling out a photo to show the young marine. "Goes by Ringo. Sound familiar?"_

_It didn't. Whatsoever. "No."_

_"The Zucados are a class act," Agent Scott said. "Four cousins who never met a law they wouldn't break. B &E, assault, murder. Used to be five. We think the other four ate him."_

_Swell family. "Uh-huh."_

_"Looks like Ringo used an alias to get an accounting job at DoD," the man continued. "Then gave himself a bonus. You sure you don't know anything about it?"_

_"I'm sure," he said. He wasn't into anything shady and tried not to let his offence at the implications show on his face._

_"How about this?" the agent questioned, having pulled out an evidence bag to show him the object inside._

_"Maybe a... a key?" Jethro suggested. "Thinking hotel."_

_"Yeah," the agent said, "but we can't find the hotel. Hoping you can give us a lead. Maybe start with how you ended up in a trunk in D.C. when your file says you're stationed at LeJeune."_

_"No, sir, not anymore," he explained. "I was just accepted to scout sniper school."_

_"Then you took a wrong turn," the agent retorted. "This year's scouts report to Pendleton. So why are you in D.C.?"_

_"Pit stop," he explained. "We're here for a buddy's wedding."_

_"We?" Agent Scott questioned._

_"My girlfriend, Shannon," he elaborated. "_ _She gets here in a few days. I'm here early because I'm in the wedding. I was out looking for a suit when this guy runs up behind me and sticks a gun in my ear. Forced me into the trunk, took off driving."_

_"He forced you, Marine?" the agent said a bit doubtfully. Marines were hardly the easiest people to force back into a corner. They were trained to be that way._

_"There were civilians around," he explained. "Didn't want to risk it."_

_"Noble," the agent said. "But a gamble. If it wasn't for that idiot driving on the wrong side of the road, you might be the one in our morgue."_ _Just then the elevator bell dinged. "And now you got a chance to say thank you. Looks like he's back from the hospital to give his statement."_

 _He turned to see who was coming in. It was a blond, clearly very posh British man who was just a few years older than Jethro himself. The man had his right arm in a white sling, as it had clearly been injured in the earlier accident. Judging by the accent, Jethro figured the man was Scottish. "_ _I'm just saying, if Americans want to drive on the wrong side of the road, they should put up bloody signs at every intersection to remind the rest of the civilized world."_

_Jethro had to smirk at that._

_"Mr. Mallard," Agent Scott greeted._

_"Actually, Dr. Mallard," the man corrected. "Well, former doctor."_

_"Sergeant Gibbs," he said, introducing himself. "Former trunk."_

_The man got a funny expression on his face. "_ _Ah."_

_"I owe you a drink," he said.  
_

_"Well, that depends," Ducky replied. "_ _How do you feel about scotch?"_

_"I'd feel better about bourbon," he quipped back._

_"Sold," Ducky said with a rather cheeky smile. He then offered Jethro his hand, and the Marine shook it, smiling back._

Pulling himself back into the present, he turned to Palmer and took his leave. His mind was reeling. He really needed to find Ducky and talk to him.

Ducky wasn't in his office, so he headed upstairs and ran into him in the squad room. Ducky was on the phone, laughing, but Jethro knew his friend wouldn't be for much longer. He was about to resurrect an old ghost.

"Ah, just the man I wanted to see," Ducky said when he ended the phone call and spotted him. "Yes, I had a wonderfully productive lunch yesterday with the historians from the DEA and CIA. And we had this..."

"Zucados are back," he said.

"I beg your pardon?" Ducky questioned.

He eyed the older man. "You heard me, Duck."

"Well, how do you know?" the man pushed.

"Because," he said, pulling out the photo of their murder victim to show the other man, "one of them is laying downstairs in our morgue."

Ducky blinked. "I believe the apropos phrase is 'just when we thought we were out...'"

He was right. It was definitely going to be a long day. He had way too much going on right now to have that conversation with Jack.


	4. Chapter 4

Walking up to his team, in the bullpen, Jethro once again got the inpression that everyone was talking about him. "Come on, let's go."

"Oh. Okay," Bishop immediately jumped in. "Well, as you know, our intruder's - real name was Maurice Zucado."

"He's been in and out of jail his whole life," Torres chimed in.

"But one of his crimes seems particularly relevant now," McGee added. "Especially if we're going with a hacker theory."

"About four years ago," Bishop stated, "Maurice got a job at a phone company and was arrested six months later for breaking into their system."

"So he definitely has hacker skills," McGee pointed out.

"What was he looking for?" Torres questioned aloud.

"I'm sure Zucado knows,"' he said without even realizing it.

"What's that?" McGee inquired, not following Jethro's train of thought. How could he? It wasn't like Jethro talked about what had happened all those years ago.

"Jonny Zucado," he reiterated.

"Who's _Jonny_ Zucado?" Bishop questioned.

"His cousin," Jethro explained. "Jonny was in charge of the crew. If there's a Zucado breaking the law, Jonny's involved. Find him."

McGee nodded. "Okay."

"Hey, Gibbs," Torres said, "so, there's this new bar down by Lakewood, and, uh, they have bourbon... that's smooth..."

"Jonny Zucado," he stated. "Get me something."

Torres nodded. "Sir."

He was about to tell Torres not to call him sir when McGee spoke up. "Boss, I got something. It's a construction company that's under investigation by the Carolinas Field Office on bribery and obstruction of justice charges."

"Well," Bishop commented, "this Zucado guy easily could have sent his cousin to hack into our system... see how much we know."

In Jethro's opinion that was more than a reasonable assumption, given what they knew and how far he knew the Zucados were willing to go in order to avoid facing consequences for their crimes. "Bring him in."

"Jonny went into hiding the day Carolina filed charges against him," McGee said a brief moment later. "He's gonna be tough to find."

"You got a problem with tough?" he shot back, turning around to face his Senior Field Agent. He'd replied more harshly than he had intended, but pushed the thought aside. He knew that it wasn't McGee's fault, but the Zucados and everything else going on had Jethro more on edge than he wanted to admit.

McGee eyed him. "Well, no, boss, but..."

"But I do have a question," Torres chimed in. The younger man had never been overly intimidated by Jethro. "How'd you know to even look for this guy?"

Jethro didn't answer the question, but he couldn't help running over the events of years ago in his mind.

_"Sorry I'm late," Ducky said, walking up to Jethro who was standing outside a small shop, glancing inside._ _. "I finally found a rental home for Mother and me. This one's furnished. I just signed the lease."_

_"So, the boat's stuck in the bottle," he interrupted, "and you can never get it out. What's the point?"_

_"It's a beastly little Victorian Mother will hate but you would probably love," Ducky continued, unbothered by Jethro's attitude. "There's a basement perfect..."_

_"Oh, walk and talk," he said, gesturing for the older man to follow him down the street. "I'm thirsty."_

_"Oh. Yeah," Ducky said. "When you said you wanted to buy me a drink, I didn't realize we'd spend the next three days hitting every pub in the city. Well, I have to say, getting to know you has been a fascinating case study in fortitude... and mettle."_

_He gave a little chuckle at that._

_"U.S. Marine Corps must be proud to have you."_

_He nodded. "Feeling's mutual."_

_Ducky immediately made an amused little noise. "_ _Succinctly put. You're a man of few words, aren't you?"_

_"Well," he quipped, "you do all the talking." The older man, who he was starting to consider a friend of sorts, really was very chatty._

_"Well," Ducky replied, "let's talk about this wedding suit you've been lugging around. Can I take a peek?"_

_A small smile on his face, he started to open the black garment bag, revealing the light grey tuxedo with a frilly shirt and puffy sleeves. "_ _What do you think?"_

_"I think you are about to find out just how much this girlfriend of yours actually loves you," the older man said, clearly horrified by Jethro's fashion choice but not wanting to be rude to the younger man. "Speaking of, when do you pick her up? Her bus gets in from Stillwater today, does it not?"_

_"Her bus does," he confirmed. "She doesn't."_

_"Why? What happened?"_

_He shot Ducky a look. "Oh, my. Ah." The older man gave a weak chuckle as he started to walk away. "That explains the day drinking. What's my excuse? Jethro, I'm so very sorry. Did she give you a reason?"_

_"She didn't end it. I did."_

_"W-Wait, wait, wait, wait. I don't understand," the man said, clearly baffled. "This is the girl you called your soul mate, and suddenly, you decide you... You didn't break up with her over the phone, did you?"_

_"Would you prefer I let her get on a bus and come all the way down here?" he inquired. Shannon deserved better than being some Jarhead's wife. Ducky wasn't wrong, he loved Shannon. It scared him though, and, honestly, what did he have to offer her? Being transferred all the time? A flag when he likely got killed in the line of duty? He couldn't shake the feeling that she'd wake up one day and realize that she deserved better than a partner who'd never really be there._

_She was an amazing woman, and he knew his leaving all the time was hard on her. The moving around wasn't about to end any time soon, even or especially once Sniper School was over, and if he died... She deserved so much better. In his mind, there was little chance that she wasn't going to come to the same conclusion eventually. Even if it took months or years.  
_ __  
He fought to keep his thoughts off his face. __  


_"A proper gentleman would have gone to her," Ducky pointed out. The older man then sighed and put his arm around Jethro. "_ _I'm buying the drinks today."_

_"Nobody's drinking today," a man with dark hair said, walking up behind them with some scrawny dude behind him.. "Jonny Zucado wants to talk to you."_

_"He's not related to a Ringo by any chance?" Ducky quipped._

_"Now," the man said, showing he had a gun. "Maurice, get the car."_

_The second man took his inhaler and walked away to do as told._

Pulling himself out of his musings, he went to see if Kasie found anything.

"After talking with Ducky," Kasie said, "I think we figured out a way we can track this Jonny Zucado guy. Now, Jonny may have gone into hiding to avoid the charges against him, but his pacemaker did not."

"Zucado was implanted with one exactly like this when he was treated for atrial fibrillation last year," Ducky explained.

"Can you track it, Kasie?" Jethro inquired.

"Well, sort of," the forensic scientist explained. "Every day, it phones home to Zucado's doctor on a cellular frequency. Now, the next time the pacemaker connects, I should be able to triangulate his location off the cell tower. Now, Jonny Zucado, he can run from the long arm of the law, but he cannot hide from the medium-sized arms of Kasie Hines."

"Oh, Jethro," Ducky said. "Did you ever think you'd see that face again?"

"Well," he said, "I was hoping not."

"After I heard about the run-in you two had back in the day with this Zucado guy," Kasie said, "I looked up your old NIS case file."

As he walked out of the lab he heard Kasie ask, "What did I do?"

He felt a bit bad, as it wasn't anything to do with her, but Zucado's reappearance was dredging up old memories that were... better left unremembered.

It was more than Zucado being the one who got away. He didn't know how to explain how many emotions were wrapped up in what happened back then.

_Zucado slapped Jethro rather hard, but he fougbt not not flinch and to look the man in the eye. "Let's try this again. What did my cousin Ringo say before he died?"_

_He could make out a siren wailing in the distance._

_"The only Ringo I know," Ducky chimed in, "is the one who wrote Octopus's Garden."_

_Jethro chuckled softly at that._

_Jonny Zucado then grabbed Jethro by the back of the head, smashing his face into the top of the desk right beside him._

_Jethro gave a little grunt as that happened and then siting up straight again he spit out the blood in his mouth, a tooth falling into his hand._

_"Give me the thing from Freckles," Zucado stated, turning slightly to face the man's little sidekick. "'I was out "looking for a suit when a guy ran up behind me and stuck a gun in my ear.' That sound familiar? Because that's what you told that cop." He eyed Jethro. "Is there anything else not in the report?" Jethro still didn't give the obnoxious man a response._ _"My cousin Ringo stole something from me. Something very, very valuable. And I need to know if he told those NIS cops about it."_

_"You have the report," he quipped. "You need me to read it to you?"_

_The man picked up a wrench, clearly intending to beat Jethro with it._

_"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Ducky said. "Your cousin died shortly after the car crash from multiple stab wounds. I attempted to save his life, but he'd lost too much blood from those stab wounds."_

_"Yeah," Zucado said, "that was kind of the point."_

_"The thing is," Ducky explained, "he didn't have a chance to tell those NIS agents anything. He was dead long before they arrived." When they didn't seem fully convinced, Ducky tried to placate them. "I'm telling the truth."_

_"Okay. I believe you. And thank you so much for that information" The man then pulled out his gun. "We're done here."_

_Jethro then heard the click of the gun and watched as it was pointed right at him. He was terrified, nit wanting to die, but didn't want to give the bastards the satisfaction of seeing how afraid he actually was. He forced himself to speak and to keep his tone levelled. "_ _You kill us, they will never stop looking for you. Won't be the cops that find you. It will be the Marines."_

_The gun clicked again and the man putting the gun down._

Jonny Zucado had decided to let them live, but with a warning. If they told anyone about what happened, well, they'd regret it.

Jethro had wanted to tell N.I.S anyway, but Ducky had persuaded him not to, the older man suspecting correctly that there was a mole in the agency. Zucado _would_ find out if they spoke and come after them again. They didn't know what agents they could trust.


	5. Chapter 5

When he heard fifteen minutes later that Kasie had gotten a ping on Zucado's cellphone, Jethro didn't know what to think. He did know, however, that he wasn't about to let the man get away with murder again.

"I'm not going to miss this interrogation for the world," Jack said after she let him know she was going to be in Observation with Vance as Zucado was questioned.

"I just hope he gives us something," he stated.

She squeezed his shoulder. "You'll get your man. You always do." She eyed them. "You still wanting to have that conversation later?"

"Rain cheque?" he offered. "With everything that's going on -"

She nodded, but he could tell she was a bit disappointed that the conversation was getting pushed to the side again. He needed to get his head on straight. He didn't want to ruin his friendship with Jack. "Sure. I get it. Go get 'em, Cowboy."

He gave Jack a lopsided smile and watched as she made her way into Observation and closed the door behind her.

Not wanting to waste time, he immediately headed into Interrogation.

As he closed the door, Zucado immediately pipped up. "You got old."

"Try wiser," Jethro retorted without missing a beat. Honestly, he was impressed that Zucado remembered him all these years later. Pushing that thought to the side, Jethro pointed to the chair and dropped the case file onto the table. "Sit down."

After a moment, Zucado pulled his chair out. The man then looked directly at Jethro as he spoke. "I have to say, this, uh, police harassment thing surprised me." Zucado, who had by now sat down, continued to prattle on unperturbed. "I didn't take you for the kind of guy who held grudges."

Jethro pulled a tooth out of his pocket and tossed it down onto the table, directing it towards the other man. _  
_

Zucado picked the tooth up, briefly glancing at it.

The two men locked eyes for a short moment, the implications of Jethro's response hanging in the air. _Yeah, I've held a grudge._

Zucado dropped the tooth back down onto the table. "So, why am I here?"

"We caught your cousin trying to hack our computer system."

"So what's that got to do with me?"

"You bribed a government official to land a construction contract."

"Allegedly."

"You're not gonna win in court. You are going away for a long time."

"Oh, I see," the man said with a slightly smug lilt to his voice. "You think I sent my cousin in to steal your files, hoping I'd have an advantage at trial."

"Yeah," he replied, "that's right."

Zucado laughed. "Well, I wish I'd thought of that. Would have been a lot less risky than what I did instead. You got no right to hold me."

He eyes the man. "I've got an arrest warrant."

"Right," Zucado deadpanned. "For the bribery charges." The man definitely seemed smug now. "Well... except I'd, uh, update my files if I were you."

Just then there was a knock on the door.

Zucado smirked. "Uh-oh, that can't be good."

Hating that the man in front of him was probably right, Jethro watched as his Senior Field Agent walked in. "Boss, I know about Rule 22. I'm sorry, but..."

"Oh, just tell him."

"What, McGee?" Jethro demanded.

"The bribery charges against me have been dropped," Zucado informed him, clearly more than a little amused by the situation.

"An hour ago," McGee explained. "Carolina just confirmed it."

"You couldn't get me years ago," Zucado stated, pushing the tooth back towards Jethro, "and you ain't gonna get me now." The man then stood up and turned to him as he walked towards the door. "Reunions are fun, aren't they?"

To say that Jethro was furious would be an understatement. It had been a really long couple of weeks as it was and he was getting more and more overwhelmed by everything that was going on. The memories.

"Yeah," the director said into the phone, "well, we were caught off guard as well when we heard that Zucado's case was dismissed. All right, Lynne, thank you. Give my regards to Makenna."

"Zucado buying judges now?" Jethro scoffed once Vance had hung up.

"Judge had no choice," Vance pointed out. "The star witness in the trial just turned up dead. There's no case without him."

He eyed the director. "I want that body."

"Why?" Vance inquired.

"Because you know as well as I do," he stated, "Zucado killed him."

"Well," Vance said, "that may be, but..."

"It's why he came out of hiding, Leon!" Jethro snapped. "He knew that witness was dead. There's only one way he could know about that."

"It's not our case," Vance replied. "The bribery occurred on Carolina's turf."

"Bribery?" he scoffed. "Hell, we get him on murder. He admitted it."

Vance eyed him. "It's not our case."

"It _is_ , Leon!" he retorted. "Zucado's cousin broke into our office, trying to hack their way into the Carolina NCIS network." His voice then broke as he continued to speak to the director. "That makes it our case."

"All right," Vance stated. "I will call Carolina back and see if they'll send us the body." Jethro immediately turned to leave. "But I want something, too, Gibbs." Jethro stopped and turned to face the director who was now walking towards him. "I want you to chill out. Ever since the name Zucado popped back up, you've been off your game. I tried to talk to Dr. Mallard, but for the first time since D-Day, he hasn't had anything to say. Something going on between you two?"

Honestly, he wasn't sure how to answer that. Trying to compose himself slightly, he took a breath and then eyes Vance. "I'm getting some air." With that he swiftly left the office, grabbing his things from his desk, and got in his truck to drive home.

He'd been home for maybe a half-hour and was cooking some steaks on the fire for dinner, still mulling over everything.

_"Why are we going through your back door?" he inquired._

_"Because they might be watching us," Ducky said._

_"Where's your phone?" he questioned._

_"Through there," Ducky said, gesturing vaguely in the direction._

_As he walked into the living room, several details about the house caught his eye. "Nice wainscoting."_

_"Wainscoting?" Ducky repeated, a little stunned. "What kind of Marine are you? And who are you phoning?"_

_He eyed Ducky. "Agent Scott at N.I.S."_

_"Not a good idea," Ducky told him._

_"Why not?" he pressed._

_"Because that psychopath has copies of the statements we gave them," Ducky pointed out, the implications of that statement clear._

_"Zucado has a mole in the building," he said, catching on._

_Ducky nodded his head. "And if you call Agent Scott and tell him what happened, Zucado could find out."_

_Jethro hung up the receiver. "Hell, for all we know, Scott could be the mole."_

_That was one point they could both agree on. "If we're smart..."_

_"- We find out who the mole is before we go to N.I.S."_

_Ducky eyed him. "Not what I was going to say."_

_"We could do it," he retorted_

_"No, we can't, Jethro. We're not agents."_

_"Then we go after Zucado ourselves," he suggested."  
_

_"Are you trying to get us killed, man?" Ducky then got a funny look on his face. "Oh. I know what it is."_

_"What?" he demanded._

_"You haven't been yourself since you ended things with your girlfriend," Ducky stated, knowing about the breakup but still not knowing Shannon's name._

_"Haven't been myself?" he retorted._

_"Any twonk off the street can see that you've been moping around like a lovesick teen," Ducky pointed out. "Not to mention oozing with guilt."_

_"For what?" he said, not liking where this was going._

_The older man seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "Don't you think your girl deserves a proper explanation for why you ended things so abruptly?"_

_"I gave her an explanation," he said, brushing the comment off._

_"No," Ducky said, "you gave her an excuse." The older man gave him a pointed look. "Sniper School is on the other side of the country and a long-distance relationship would be too tough."_

_"It would," he said. trying to brush the conversation off again._

_"You got a problem with tough, Sergeant?" Ducky shot back. "'Cause it seems to me that you're running."_

_"Says the guy who moved across an ocean to become an ex-doctor," he retorted._

_"This isn't about me," Ducky reminded him. "It's about why the guy who was so afraid of a girl is so willing to risk his life chasing a killer. Trying to find some stupid N.I.S mole when it could be any..." Just then the man stopped._

_Jethro looked around. "What?"_

_"I know who the mole is."_

And Ducky had. One of the Zucado cousins had been one of the construction workers at the Navy Yard. Although, said cousin had then quickly disappeared.

He was pulled out of his musings and back to the present by his longtime friend walking into the room. "Hope you don't mind that I let myself in, but there's only so many times a man will knock before he tries the door," Ducky said. "That's actually an old Mallard family proverb." The older man gave a little chuckle at his own comment. Ducky then took a seat on the couch. "Fine. Let's cut the small talk." Ducky heaved a sigh. "I'm worried about you, Jethro."

He didn't want to do this. "I'm fine."

"No, you are not fine," Ducky said, knowing full well that Jethro was lying. "You should go, and talk to Agent Sloane."

"Oh, yeah?" he inquired. "'Bout what?"

"You're letting a -year-old grudge get under your skin."

"That what I'm doing?"

"Well, have you considered letting McGee take point on the Zucado case?"

Knowing the conversation wasn't going away, he finally stood up and turned to face his longtime friend. "I'm not walking away from this."

Ducky gave a weak chuckle. "Jethro..."

"Doc," he said without preamble, "I took your advice before. I didn't go after Zucado. I'm not backing down again."

Ducky weak chuckle. "Well, if you had gone after Zucado years ago, you'd be dead."

He nodded. "Yeah. I would be." And there were days he thought that might have been the better way for things to go. Shannon and Kelly deserved so much better. They should've been the ones to survive. He was the Marine. It should've been him.

"Is that the way you want history to unfold?" Ducky inquired. "You'd never have married Shannon, never had Kelly, you'd never..." Jethro could see the moment it clicked in his friend's kind. "You'd never have lost them."

Jethro swallowed the lump in his throat.

Ducky sighed. "I see. Your grudge isn't with Zucado," the man said, now standing up and eyeing Jethro. "It's with me."

"No," he said, needing to make Ducky understand. "They're the best thing that ever happened to me, Duck. Shannon and Kelly." He shook his head. "I don't blame you. I owe you. You gave me time with them." He gave a little shrug of the shoulders as he continued to speak. "Time's all we have."

"Indeed it is," Ducky agreed. "But Shannon and Kelly aren't your only family." Just then Ducky's phone vibrated. "Carolina has sent over the dead witness from the Zucado bribery case. I think I'll go and see if Dr. Palmer needs any help."

He nodded, not knowing what else to say. As Ducky got to the door, however, quickly Jethro spoke up. "Duck!"

"Yes?" the other man inquired.

"Shannon..." he started, struggling to find the words. "She was the girlfriend."

Ducky went a bit wide-eyed. "What?"

"Shannon," he reiterated, "she was the girl I'd broken up with." He fidgeted slightly. "So, thanks... if ya hadn't said what you did to me..." _I would've missed out on eleven amazing years with them._

Ducky nodded, giving Jethro a small smile before he made his way out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

"Bomb squad's doing another sweep of the entire Navy Yard," McGee informed him as the pair walked and talked.

"He wasn't planting a bomb," Jethro commented by way of reply.

"We know the cousin was here doing something in the building," McGee commented without missing a beat. "We just don't know what."

As they entered the Forensic Lab, Kasie jumped into the conversation. "Which is why I asked you down here. I have been working on the notebook our intruder tried to burn in the basement. As it turns out, ink burns at a different rate than paper. So I scanned the crispy critter."

"Bottom line?" he pressed.

"Well," Kasie said, pulling up something on her computer for him to see, "I was able to partially reconstruct one of the pages. It's a map of the building. Cuz wasn't trying to hack us. I think he was looking for something in the building."

Well, that got his attention. "What?"

"No idea," the forensic scientist said, pulling something else up on the screen, "but I got a lead on who drew this for him. I pulled a handwriting sample and compared it to every single Zucado I could find."

"You got a match," he said knowingly, pleased that they were finally managing to get somewhere with this case.

"I did indeed," Kasie confirmed. "Your mapmaker is another Zucado cousin, Emilio. But apparently, everybody calls him..."

"Freckles," Jethro said, immediately recalling something he heard when he and Ducky had been taken by Jonny Zucado. "I've heard that name before." He turned to face his Senior Field Agent. "Pick him up."

While McGee and Bishop went to arrest Emilio - AKA the construction guy from forty years that Ducky had identified as the mole - Jethro went to the staffroom to poor himself some coffee and shake the memories off.

His head wouldn't stop spinning though, and he was relieved when his Senior Field Agent and Forensic Psychologist walked in to let him know that Emilio Zucado was in interrogation, Jack clearly wanting to observe again.

"How many cousins does Jonny Zucado have?" Jack questioned while they waited for Torres and Bishop's interrogation to get started.

"Four," he deadpanned. "Used to be five. Supposedly, the other four ate him."

Jack immediately gave him a funny look at the joke. "To be honest, I'm having trouble keeping them all straight."

The pair then turned their attention to the interrogation.

As it turned out, Emilio Zucado sang like a canary. The man explained how his cousin Jonny embedded him with the painting crew to gain access to an evidence locker, where the key that was found on Ringo back in the day was stored. But upon pinching the key, Emilio realized that the feds were onto him, so he hid it inside the wall and quite the crew. And _that_ is what Maurice had come looking for.

McGee then had the joynof sawing a hole in the wall. The team managed to find the card key, which apparently opened a Swiss deposit box in which Ringo had hidden the millions that he embezzled from the Navy.

He had apparently been making a run for it when he carjacked Jethro and stuffed him in the trunk of the car back in 1980.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't help but grin at how much McGee was enjoying sawing into the walk.

As he and Ducky locked eyes while they discussed the case, Jethro couldn't help but remember the conversation the pair had had the night before he shipped out to Sniper School. The last conversation that they would have before the pair would lose touch for just over a decade.

_He walked into Ducky's house, and headed towards the kitchen where he could hear his friend's voice coming from._

_"What are you doing?" he said as he saw the man's attempt at cooking._

_"Uh," Ducky said, "cooking you a bon voyage meal before you leave for California."_

_"Steaks in the oven?" he quipped. "You mad at me?"_

_Ducky rolled his eyes. "I don't have a grill."_

_"No," he agreed, "but you got one hell of a fireplace."_

_He then took the dish from Ducky and headed_ _towards the lit fireplace._

_"Is this, like, some American thing?" Ducky questioned. "'Cause it sounds fairly gross."_

_"No. It's a... Jackson Gibbs thing," he explained. His dad had been the one to teach him it, and he quite liked it. "My dad. Don't knock it... ...till you try it."_

_"Oh, well, thank you for using your fingers," Ducky said a bit sarcastically as he watched Jethro pick up the steaks and start putting them on the fire. "Oh, for goodness' sake." He immediately put a dishcloth under the dish to protect the wooden table, much to Jethro's amusement. He was an interesting mix of posh and not._

_"There we go," he said, pleased that they were starting to cook._

_"Mm." Ducky then exhaled. "I_ _still can't believe Zucado walked away a free man."_

_Jethro had to agree. it wasn't fair. "Not enough proof to convict him."_

_"Dr. Magnus must have missed something," Ducky said. "As M.E., surely he should've been able to find some physical evidence tying Zucado to the stabbing."_

_"Yeah?" he said, immediately picking up on his friends passion for the situation. "Why don't you give it a try?"_

_The older man laughed sardonically. "_ _I'm not a doctor anymore."_

 _"Mm, no, this is different," he told the other man. "M.E.s don't save the living. They help the dead find peace." He then shot Ducky a cheeky look. "_ _Besides, you'd have a captive audience for all of your stories."_

_Ducky chuckled at that._

_"You join N.I.S," he continued, "you might get another shot at Zucado."_

_"Second chances are important," Ducky agreed. "But not guaranteed, Jethro." The man adopted a more serious look. "Especially involving matters of the heart."_

_"Really?" he immediately scoffed. "_ _We're doing this again?"_

_"Why did you really end it with your girlfriend?" Ducky asked. "Sniper School only lasts eleven weeks. And then you could come home to her."_

_"Then I'll leave again. Stationed who knows where," he explained. "And what if one day I don't come home? She gets a folded-up flag instead?" Shannon deserved better than that. Better than him. His friend wasn't wrong though. He'd fallen hard for Shannon and was scared it wasn't going to last._

_"Seems like you're basing life decisions on a whole lot of ifs."_

_"What do you want from me?"_

_"The truth," Ducky_ _said. "You're scared."_

_"Of what?" he said with a sneer. "Love?"_

_"No. Losing love." Ducky paused for a moment to let that sink in. "I think you're walking away before you get hurt."_

_"I think you're more affected by my breakup than I am."_

_"Because I know what you don't. Love is never gonna come easy," Ducky said. "Yes, it is scary and it's messy as hell, but it cannot be optional. So when true love does come along, you need to fight to hold on to it. You need to... climb into that bottle with that ship and put a cork in it. Because it may never come round again."_

_"What was her name?" he questioned._

_"Maggie."_

_"What happened?"_

_"Believe it or not," Ducky said, "_ _there are some stories even I won't tell." The man's eyes softened. "Do not make the same mistakes I made, Jethro. You're a good man. And I do hope we cross paths again."  
_

 _He dipped his head slightly before speaking. "_ _I got a feeling we might."_

And they had. In August of 1992 the pair started working together. It had taken Jethro a moment to realize just who Dr. Mallard was, but working at N.I.S together, the pair had quickly rekindled their friendship.

He'd never told Ducky he'd taken his advice and gotten back together with his girlfriend. In fact, he'd scarcely mentioned Shannon or Kelly for years.

Forcing himself back into the present, he got everything in order and they then headed to Jonny Zucado's office to execute the arrest warrant.

"Oh, I can't wait to hear this," the career criminal said the second they walked in. "What new crime am I being accused of now?"

"Oh, uh," Torres said, "not a new one."

"You're under arrest," Jethro informed the man. "For the murder of Rinaldi Zucado."

"Ringo?" the man said with a laugh. "That was forty years ago."

"We exhumed his body," Jethro said smugly.

"And, as it turns out," Ducky chimed in, "DNA has a half-life of over years."

Torres seemed to be enjoying this almost as much as Jethro himself. "And guess whose DNA we found under Ringo's fingernails the day he was murdered?"

"Reunions are fun, aren't they?" Jethro gloated, echoing Zucado's taunt from earlier.

"Call my lawyer," Zucado exclaimed as Torres put the handcuffs on him. "Call him!"

Several hours later, Jethro was in his basement. He was feeling restless and quickly found himself looking at an old photo of a much younger him with Shannon.

It had been taken the day that he'd proposed to her. The day that he'd apologized for being an idiot and asked her to take him back.

Ducky had convinced him not to push Shannon away, so he'd ended up at a payphone, just hoping that she'd be willing to hear him out.

_"Hello?"_

_"Hey, it's me. Don't hang up." For a moment he was concerned that she had done exactly that. "Shannon? Are you there?"_

_"What do you want?" she demanded, clearly upset with him. She had a pretty good reason, though. He'd done that to himself._

_"I, uh," he stuttered. "I only have a few days before I ship out."_

_"And your point?"_

_"Uh, I've been doing some thinking," he told her. "Uh, a lot of thinking. And I'd like to ask you a question before I leave."_

_"What kind of question?"_

_"The kind that a gentleman doesn't ask over the phone," he said, echoing Ducky's earlier words in his own way. "I'll see you in five hours."_ _With that, he'd gotten on the bus to Stillwater and proposed to the love of his life.  
_

She'd taken him back. Blessedly and unexpectedly, she'd not only taken him back but agreed to marry him.   
  
And then, two amazing yet hectic years later, they had their daughter Kelly, who completed their little family.

_Jethro had just gotten back stateside from Iraq and, dressed in his Dress Blue Charlies, immediately went with Shannon to pick up their six-year-old from school._

_It would be the first time that he’d seen her in seven long months._   
  
_He waited by the main doors while his wife continued down the hallway towards Kelly’s classroom._

_Maybe ten minutes later, he could hear Shannon’s voice followed by Kelly’s laughter as she came running. He quickly slipped into one of the corners so that Kelly wouldn’t see him right off the bat._

_As his daughter ran past him, he finally pipped up. “Where ya goin’?”_

_The little girl immediately stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him. She froze for a moment, a little stunned._

_”Come here,” he said, grinning._

_His smile grew as his daughter, now beaming, run up and threw her arms around him._

_“You runnin’ away from me?” he teased.  
_

_Kelly hugged him tighter._

_“Can I have a kiss?” he asked before giving her a kiss on the forehead._

_“Daddy!”_

_“My Kelly.” He gave her another kiss, before standing her on her feet. “You miss me?”_

_“Yeah!” Kelly exclaimed happily._

_“You surprised?” Shannon asked their daughter. Jethro had come home a week early, and they hadn’t told Kelly about the change in plans._

_“Yes,” Kelly replied, hugging him even tighter as he kissed her again.  
_

_He kissed his daughter on the cheek three times. “I love you.” Pulling back, he looked her in the eyes. “You have a good day at school, Princess?”_

_“Yeah,” Kelly replied, playing with his face as she did so. The six-year-old then tried to tickle him, much to Shannon and his amusement.  
_

_He stood up, holding her in his arms and giving her another peck on the cheek. “I missed you. So much.”  
_

_Father and daughter messed around for a minute or so and then Jethro asked her if she was ready to go home._ _  
_

_Kelly nodded. “Yeah.”_

_“And party,” he added conspiratorially._ _  
_

_“And what are you gunna do?” Shannon asked, knowing the answer._

_“Tea party,” Kelly announced excitedly._

_“Have a tea party,” Shannon replied. “That’s what she’s been saying for months now.”_

_He chuckled softly, oddly looking forward to it as well. “Tea parties are very serious business, Shan. Aren’t they, Kellz?”  
_

_Kelly nodded sagely. “Uh-huh, Daddy.”_

_His wife laughed at the pair’s comments. “Yes, I suppose, they are.”_ _  
_

Pulling himself back into the present, he tried to focus on the woodwork for his boat. He couldn't shake this feeling, though.

Finally, Jethro pulled out his cellphone, Ducky's earlier comment running through his mind. _Shannon and Kelly aren't your only family._

It was, as expected, quite loud at the bar where the team was. He covered his left ear with his hand and spoke loudly. "McGee!"

"Hey, Boss. Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine. Uh, you guys still out for drinks?"

"Oh, yeah. And then some. Why? You need us to come back?

"No. No, no. So...? So... I was just, uh..." God, why was he tripping over his own tongue? "- Wondering how long you were gonna be there. Thought I'd stop by." When the line went silent, Jethro didn't know what to think. "McGee?"

"Gibbs is coming, baby!"

He could immediately hear the other members of his team cheering, and couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm. Any thought that he might not be welcome after being so difficult that week was immediately put out of his mind.

He then quickly shot of a text to Jack, hoping she was there. He’s thought he’d heard her voice but everything at the bar was so loud. _‘You at the bar?’_

He didn’t have to wait more than a few seconds for a reply. ` _Hooah!_ _Now put that phone of yours away and get your arse down here, Gunny.’_

Jethro chuckled softly as he read the text and then proceeded to send off a quick reply _.`Copy that. See you soon, Lieutenant.’  
_


	7. Chapter 7

Jethro smirked, feeling quite pleased with himself. "I found it." He immediately started tightening the sleeve, successfully stopping the leak, albeit temporarily.

"Nice work!" Jack said gratefully, looking more alert than she did just a few minutes before. It had been a bit of a rough morning. The blonde then gave Jethro a rather amused look. "So, what happened after I left last night?" She'd gone home earlier, having more common sense then the rest.

He smirked, putting the tool he was holding down. Thank God for ibuprofen, which had finally started to kick in. "Well, let's just say things got interesting." Jethro had ordered them more tequila shots and then Bishop and Kasie had decided to sing Dolly Parton. Given the fact that the bar didn't have karaoke, the rendition of _Islands in the Stream_ was more than a little entertaining. It had been interesting to see that side of his team members, to say the least.

"Well," she said, "you were already setting quite the pace there before I left, Cowboy."

"I never do anything half way," he said with a cheeky look. Honestly, Jethro'd needed to blow off some steam after a really hard couple of weeks. He hadn't even realized just how badly he had needed that. How on edge he really had been. "He then glanced up from under the sink and right up at Jack. "Anyway, the sleeve is only temporary. I'll come by with the actual part this evening."

"You're a godsend," she told him. "I didn't want to bother you with this -" She made a vague gesture towards the leaky pipe. "- this morning given the late night, but..."

"You know, Jack," he said, "if you need help with anything, I'm here."

Jack gave a little nod in reply. "I know." She looked like she was deciding whether or not to say something to him. "About that conversation we've been putting off..."

"Yeah?" He inquired. "What about it?"

"Well," Jack said, "I think we need to talk."

"I know," he said, "it's just -" He was trying to choose his words carefully, but was interrupted by his cellphone vibrating. He put a finger up. "Hang on."

Jethro pulled out his cellphone and immediately saw that he had a new text message from Tobias Fornell. Tobias was trying to make headway on finding the people who supplied Emily's former drug-dealer with the drugs and had apparently got some sort of lead. ` _Beltway burger. Pennsylvania Ave. Explain more when I see you, Butch.'_

He glanced up at Jack and sighed.

"Go," she said, easily reading his expression. "Go. We'll talk later."

He nodded, kissing her on the cheek. "Thanks, Jack."

Throwing on his black suit jacket and grabbing his keys, he headed out the door to hopefully get some answers from Tobias.

He felt bad for walking out on the conversation they needed to have, yet again, but part of him was grateful for the bought time. He was so damn scared of him screwing things up with Jack like he had everyone else he'd been with.

Even if she actually returned his feelings, which he was becoming more confident she did, that didn't change what had ruined all his relationships. They weren't Shannon.

If he couldn't actually get past that, which he felt like he never would at this point in his life, he'd just ending up hurting Jack and losing her friendship. It wouldn't work out. And, after so many heartbreaks, he just didn't know if he had it in him to actually tear that wall down.

The conversation with Hollis Mann ran through his mind.

_"I liked you, okay? I really liked you," Hollis had said. "And what happened between us, it was good. It was great, even. But there was a wall that wasn't coming down. Your past. And I could see what was gonna happen. How bad it was gonna get. Me, trying to... pull things from you, and you not ready to let go. I made an executive decision. I left. So that... we could remember the good."_

Shaking his head, he drove, trying to focus on what was going on with Tobias. Beltway Burger was hardly a place that Tobias frequented, so something was clearly going on if the man wanted to met there.

Jethro pulled up to the drive-thru speaker at the fast food joint and immediately heard a man's voice. "Welcome to Beltway Burgers, where every day is a Beltway day. May I please take your order?"

"Uh," he said as he recognized the voice, "coffee. Black."

"Would you like to make that a Beltway breakfast combo for three dollars more?"

"No," he replied.

"Next window, please."

Jethro pulled up to the window, shaking his head as he did so.

"$1.59, please," Tobias said.

Jethro handed the change over.

"Thank you," Tobias said. "How's your morning so far, sir?"

"Fine," he replied. This situation felt quite odd.

"I'm glad to hear that," Tobias said. "Here's your coffee." The man handed over his coffee with a smile. "And you have a Beltway day."

He pulled around back and waited a few minutes for Tobias to come walking out the back of the restaurant.

"What do you want?" I'm on a five-minute smoke break.

He raised an eyebrow. "They still have those?"

"No," Tobias said with a small snort. "And I don't smoke." Well, that was certainly true. "So, whatever it is you came to say, make it fast."

"So," he said, "what are you doing..." He flicked Tobias' nametag, more than a little amused by the man's choice of name. " _Toby_?"

"Hey!" the man shot back. "I earned that... they don't hire just anybody, you know."

"You said you had a lead?" he pressed.

"You're looking at it," Tobias informed him.

"What's fast food got to do with counterfeit opioids?" he inquired.

"Okay. The pill pusher we were supposed to be following? He worked here."

He eyed his friend. "The pill pusher you were supposed to be following, Tobias."

"Not that again... I didn't kill him!" Just then Tobias froze and realized one of his female coworkers had just walked out, clearly taking the garbage out. "Kimberly! Good morning. It wasn't my fault. The pill pusher died of a drug overdose, okay?"

He gave a curt nod. "I read the autopsy report."

"Well, then let's focus on the real question here. What was a drug dealer, who makes thousands of dollars a week, doing flipping burgers for minimum wage, huh? That doesn't make sense."

"Unless this place had something to do with the drugs," he stated.

"Exactly," Tobias agreed. "I just need more time to find out how."

"How much more time?" he demanded.

"Give me a few more days," Tobias requested. "I'm this close to getting freezer privileges. It's one of the few places I haven't been able to search yet. That and the manager's office. He's kind of a hard-ass."

Just then a younger man came out. Jethro had to assume that he was Tobias' boss at this undercover job.

"Toby," the man said, "five minutes are up."

Yes, the young man was definitely Tobias' boss. Not missing a beat, he quickly got out of there and started the drive home. The last thing he needed was to he caught hanging around and bring too much attention to Tobias.

Unfortunately, dispatch called him. They had a case.

Quickly pulling over, he called his team and once he'd talked to each of them he made his way to the crime scene.

They were all clearly hungover and discussing the previous night when Jethro finally walked up to where they were. The trio didn't even notice him walking up.

"Hey," Bishop asked, "how do you think Gibbs gets over his hangovers?"

"You don't," he said, revealing the fact that he was there. "What we got?"

"Our victim is Chief Petty Officer Diego Barnes," McGee informed him. "32 years old, who lived in the next building over."

"It looks like he was walking home over there when he was initially attacked and then fled up the fire escape," Bishop added, "but, um, it was too late."

"We got a motive?" he questioned.

"His wallet and money were still on him," McGee replied. "That's how the police were able to I.D. him before they called us."

"There are these deep gashes all over his abdomen," Bishop commented. "And his insides are now on the outside."

Jethro looked up to get a better idea of the situation. "Gutted him like a fish."

"Yeah," Torres agreed. "This is either personal or... we're looking for a total psycho."

Just then some of the man's guts came loose and fell from the fire escape onto the ground right in front of them. This was beyond disgusting.

Bishop immediately groaned.

McGee sighed, looking like he was going to puke. "I can't do this." The man then started to walk towards the dumpster. "I'm gonna be sick."

"Ah, poor guy," Bishop said. "I don't blame him."

"Uh, Boss," McGee said, "I got something here you might want to see."

"No, McGee," Bishop said, "nobody wants to see that."

Jethro really couldn't argue with that, but started to walk towards his Senior Field Agent regardless to see what was up.

"I didn't throw up," his Senior Field Agent informed the team. "Someone else did. I think I found our murder weapon."

Sure enough, beside a pile of vomit was a rather bloody knife.

McGee took a picture of the knife and then they let Palmer transfer the body and got the hell out of there. The scene was bad and being hungover made it that much worse. Unlike his team though, it was definitely not the first time that he'd shown up to work more than a little hungover.

"Well," Palmer informed him as he joined the Medical Examiner down in autopsy, "the lacerations on the body match the double-sided knife found at the scene."

"Killer dropped it?" he suggested.

"While vomiting, it seems." Palmer gave him a look as he spoke. "There's no bile on the victim's mouth, so the mystery puke must have come from whoever dropped that knife. Kasie's running DNA right now."

"Why carve him up like this, Palmer?"

"If you're asking for a motive," Palmer said, "I can't say for sure. What I can say is that all these cuts occurred postmortem. So I would think that the killer must have climbed the fire escape and done all of his... carving up there."

"After the fact?" he asked, although it was more of a statement.

"Gibbs, I know right now isn't the best time," Palmer said, "but, uh, I just wanted to say that last night was really special. You joining us for drinks. I've always thought of you as more than a coworker... a mentor, a father figure of sorts. I feel like now I can add 'friend' to that list."

He wasn't sure what to say to that. He considered the kid part of his makeshift family, but he wasn't the verbally sentimental type. "Call me when you get a motive."

Jethro had just reached the doors leaving autopsy when Palmer, rather audibly, called him back to the room. "Agent Gibbs?!"

He immediately turned around and went back into the room.

"You told me to call you when I found a motive," Palmer stated, immediately getting to the point. "I think I just did." The young Medical Examiner was holding up what appeared to be a very small, albeit also rather bloody, piece of paper. "I found this lodged in the lower esophageal sphincter. Must've swallowed it just before he died. It looks like... a corner of some torn paper."

"Where's the rest of it?" he inquired.

"I'd say it was removed," Palmer guessed. "The hard way."

This was definitely going to be a weird case.


End file.
